The1nfection

Okay guys, so I've recently bought a 1993 Honda Del Sol S. It's got the 1.5 engine. It's really nothing special, but I love the Del Sol, so I decided to make it my project. The first thing I did was change the head gasket. It was a little difficult at first, but I got everything sorted out just fine. Now the car is running, but there's literally a million things that need to be done. I'm posting here both to document the repairs, and to seek help from people who are more experienced.

The current problem that I'm having is with the instrument cluster. It reads everything wrong but the RPM and the roof indicator, although the various lights work too (check engine, oil, SRS, and the right turn signal.) The left turn signal doesn't work, nor does the speedometer (It thinks 40 is zero), the heat gauge (Thinks the car is in the Arctic circle, always at 0), and the fuel gauge (Boy do I wish my car never dipped below half gas). So my first question is... Do I need to replace it, or just start changing sensors? Are there any tests that can be done to determine the source of the problem? I'm pretty new to this, so any help would be appriciated!

ALSO ------ I do own the Chilton manual, but it fails to cover a lot of the testing and diagnostics for my car. It's a great tool for me when actually replacing things, but not much help in figuring the problem. PLEASE don't just tell me to buy a manual, as I've already done so. I also don't have access to a professional shop, or high grade tools. I'm working with a multimeter, a torque wrench, a jack/stand, and a pretty good socket set (All sizes, deep well and regular, spark plug sockets, wrenches or varied sizes, ect.). If I need to buy a few things that's fine, but I am on a budget, so please consider that too.

If you need photo/video, or any other info from me for clarity I would be more than happy to provide it!

TomCat39

The Del Sol Factory Service Manuals are not readily available on the net. I actually haven't seen many or any digitized copies. So unfortunately, if you want the best manual for your car you will have to look towards helminc.com to buy the Honda Factory Service manual specifically for your car. It blows the hayne's manual away in detail.

Your tools will be okay for many things but likely you will also be investing in more tools depending on what you wish to do.

mk378

Speedometer doesn't read zero when the car is not moving -- that has to be the speedometer head itself. It has a circuit board which can get leaky capacitors or bad solder joints. Removing the instrument cluster is something you definitely need to consult a delSol manual about, since it is different from the Civic. In either case it is easy to break the 20 year old plastic not doing it properly.

Temperature gauge stays at cold -- the sender for the gauge is in the end of the head underneath the distributor. It is the one with one wire. It is possible to have a bad connection there, or just forget to plug it back in after removing the head. If you ground the wire and turn the key on, the gauge should go all the way up to hot. Turn the key off immediately afterward don't let it slam at hot.

Gas gauge doesn't go to empty -- Unplug the wires at the gas tank. (A Civic has a hole in the floor under the back seat to do this, obviously the delSol is going to be different.) With the wires unplugged, turn the key on, the needle should go down to empty. If it does not, the gauge head is bad, if it does, the sender in the tank is the problem.

Left turn doesn't work -- Press the 4 way blinker button and confirm all the bulbs are good. If they are, unplug the turn signal switch plug (3 wires) and jump it to see if you can make it blink left and right. There is also a possibility it is the 4 way button, since all the signal circuits go through it.

The1nfection

Thanks for the help guys! I would wonder though if it's a problem with the cluster itself, as it did this before I began changing the head gasket. I'll run the test you recommend, and then update you on how it went. I'm assuming that if these tests don't work out as described I will have to replace the cluster?

tamboo

the haynes manual is worth 6 clams imho:

Honda Civic & del Sol: 1992 thru 1995 All SOHC models Haynes Repair Manual by M 1563921189 | eBay

helm is the best of course but each has info you wont find in the other.
i do own the chilton too but it was also like 5 bucks. shabbiest of the lot tho.

The1nfection

Okay, so it's been a little while due to money concerns, but I did the testing that was suggested. What I've determined is that the fuel gauge is probably the gauge head. The heat issues I got fixed up, it was just a sensor. Thankfully when I changed out the sensor it also fixed the issues with my radiator fan, which was really nice. The speedometer is the head as well... My friend tried to fix it for me but he broke it even more. I'll be looking through Craigslist and ebay for a decent new cluster. I already bought one at the junkyard, but that one is even more broken than mine. While I was there I also picked up a new hazard switch (Mine was damaged) but that's failed to fix the turn signals. I'm beginning to believe that it's related to the wiring in the light system, as all the bulbs are new and I checked on the hazards. Any suggestions on that front?

Tomorrow I'm going to be doing the Head Gasket... AGAIN. My mechanic friend told me that I was running a 1.5 S model, but as it turns out it's the 1.6 Si. I really should have checked on that to be sure, but I trusted him on it, cause it seemed like the kind of thing people would actually know about when they know cars. In any case I won't be trusting him anymore, and I'm getting it swapped no problem.

Next up is wiring the lights up properly. If I'm going to replace all the wires what types of wire should I use? To be clear I mean which brands would you all suggest? I really want to make sure that I'm using quality parts, not cheap crap.

x.l.r.8

have a good look at the fuses first and also the indicator relay, you have a multimeter so tracing voltage from the relay should get you going, do the lights flash with hazards on?

The1nfection

Okay... Covering two things here. First to address X.L.R.8... I've checked the fuses, so I'll take a multi-meter to the wiring and check everything. Only the right hand lights work when the hazards are on, which is what makes me think it's the wiring.

Second up is my Head Gasket. I just completed the swap and it seems fine. Passed a compression test on the cylinders, and the gasket is sitting right. Everything is great except that there's a small river of oil leaking off the timing belt when I start the engine. Now... I'm no mechanic but when I investigated I think I may have found the problem. There's a hole in my head right next to the timing belt that oil can freely flow out of. It doesn't leak when the car is off, but as soon as I turn it on there's a nice flow. I can't check the specific hole for the leak while the car is running though, as the timing belt is DIRECTLY in the way. So I've got some photos of the hole in question, just to clear things up.

My question is this... Shouldn't there be a gasket blocking this hole? There hasn't been one there either of the times that I've changed the gasket...

Included are two close up photos of the hole, from which I have confirmed you can touch the timing belt, and one zoomed out a bit so you guys can see the positioning. My Chilton manual doesn't cover this area AT ALL where gaskets are concerned, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

*EDIT* I've looked and found that there should be a Camshaft gasket here that isn't. Now I just want some confirmation on it to be sure this isn't anything more serious.